Thursday, April 30, 2015

The protozoan shown below is Actinosphaerium sp. This protozoan adjusted itself on the surface of a shell of a freshwater gastropod. The Actinosphaerium sp. is a kind of Amoeba with a needle like pseudopodia used for catching food.

Images were captured by Ravindra Bakare, Associate Professor of
Zoology at Kisan Veer Mahavidyalaya in Wai Dist Satara, Maharashtra,
India. Stagnant pond water was collected near the University and placed
under a biological microscope.
Bakare works for the fresh water protozoan diversity around Wai and
captured this Actinosphaerium sp. under the microscope by using a 2
megapixel eyepiece camera at 10x and 45x magnification. Microscope World is grateful for Ravindra Bakare's work in capturing these images and for sharing them with microscopy enthusiasts!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The microscope image below is of a 13-day-old Diadema larvae. Diadema larvae are an interesting sea urchin larvae. Two of the spines that are typical of other sea urchin larvae actually grow into centimeter long "wings" and they glide through the ocean currents for possibly months before finding a place to settle and metamorphose into tiny juvenile Diadema sea urchins.

Monday, April 20, 2015

The Richter Optica F1 kids microscope is hands down the best option for a cordless kids microscope. This microscope uses a cool LED light - this is important in order to keep live specimens from getting killed by the heat of the microscope light! The microscope has coarse AND fine focusing - very important in order to view a clear image at 400x. Glass optics = clear images. Magnification of 40x, 100x, 400x - high enough to view bacteria, blood cells and Protozoans in pond water. Lightweight at only 3 lbs. and easy to carry. The Richter Optica F1 sells for $99.

The Swift Optical SM105 stereo zoom microscope provides continuous magnification of 10x - 30x, which is
perfect for viewing flowers, rocks, insects and any other item that might be found out in the field and held in the palm of your hand. Cool LED light won't heat up. Top light and bottom light can be operated independently of each other. Carrying handle makes this dissecting microscope easy to transport. The Swift SM105 stereo microscope sells for $489.

The Richter Optica UX-1 is a great advanced high school microscope. With Plan Achromat objective lenses the full field of view is completely flat, crisp and clear. Binocular viewing makes it easier to view specimens through the microscope and the mechanical stage makes maneuvering these samples even easier. Magnification of 40x, 100x, 400x and 1000x provides standard lab magnifications for viewing everything from bacteria and cells to pond life creatures. Without any cords to worry about, the UX-1 is also quite popular among veterinarians. The UX-1 compound microscope sells for $699.

The UX1-LCD tablet microscope has all the great features of the UX-1 shown above, but it also
includes a 10" LCD Tablet camera. The camera has a 5 mega pixel camera and an SD card slot, as well as HDMI output. The Android tablet provides a touch screen and measurements can be made as well. The UX1-LCD tablet microscope sells for $1989.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Microscope comparator reticles for use in a biological or stereo microscope are available in full 360°, half comparators (180°), and comparators for specific objectives (1x, 2x, 3x). The microscope comparator reticles are available in diameters of 16mm - 28mm.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Arcella Vulgaris is a Testate Amoeba that has loose pseudopodia protruding out of the pseudochitin shell. This video shows the Arcella Vulgaris producing Carbon Dioxide vesicles to create buoyancy. The test (or shell on sea urchins and microorganisms) is for protection and secreted by the animal itself. Testate amoeba are amoeba that have an umbrella shaped hard covering.

Arcella Vulgaris lives among water weeds and feeds on bacteria. The video also shows another variety of Arcella sp. which is transparent and the Amoeba inside can clearly be seen.

In the video captured by Ravindra Bakare, Associate Professor of
Zoology at Kisan Veer Mahavidyalaya in Wai Dist Satara, Maharashtra,
India, stagnant pond water was collected near the University and placed
under a biological microscope.
Bakare works for the fresh water protozoan diversity around Wai and
captured this Arcella Vulgaris video under the microscope by using a 2
megapixel eyepiece camera at 45x magnification. Microscope World is grateful for Ravindra Bakare's hard work in capturing this video and for sharing it with microscopy enthusiasts!

Friday, April 10, 2015

The ASTM E112 standard is commonly practiced in the United States when determining the quality of an alloy. This standard is routinely performed by inspecting a polished sample under a metallurgical microscope to determine grains distribution within a specific area. Typically an inverted metallurgical microscope such as the Fein Optic Mi40 shown below is used.

Using this standard, a "G-Number" is derived, which directly relates to the quality of the alloy. The ASTM E112 standard can be performed in one of two ways. Image Analysis software, such as the Infinity Analyze Software included with the Lumenera cameras can be used, or a simple grain sizing reticle can be used.

When using the grain sizing reticle, a polished sample is placed under the microscope and then when looking through the microscope eyepieces the grain sizing reticle is imposed on the image. This reticle allows the technician to estimate the G-Number based on the grain size and how it matches up with the microscope reticle.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Vorticella Campanula is a fresh water stalked ciliate and usually remains attached to water weeds, other large suspended particles and sometimes to the body of a large zooplankton.

In the video below captured by Ravindra Bakare, Associate Professor of Zoology at Kisan Veer Mahavidyalaya in Wai Dist Satara, Maharashtra, India, stagnant pond water was collected near the University and placed under a biological microscope. Bakare works for the fresh water protozoan diversity around Wai and captured this Vorticella video under the microscope by using a 2 megapixel eyepiece camera at 45x magnification.

Notice that the Vorticella has a ciliary tuft around its peristome and is shown producing a water current for feeding purposes. The unidirectional water current produced by cilia can be clearly seen in the video. The myoneme or stalk is highly contractile when it is attached and covers the area around the radius.

Thanks to Professor Bakare for sharing this beautiful microscopy work!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Linden Gledhill is an artist who has used his education in science and passion for photography to create beautiful microscopy images. Gledhill utilizes a compound biological microscope to capture his images. The microscopy images were captured with a Canon EOS 5D camera mounted on an Olympus BH-2 microscope using 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x and 100x S-Plan Achromat objectives. DIC was used when capturing some of the images.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

A microscope reticule (also known as a reticle), is a small piece of glass inserted into the microscope eyepiece for counting or making measurements. This small circular glass disc has an image imprinted on it such as a grid, protractor or ruler. There are a number of different types of microscopy reticules, and each is explained briefly below. Click on the link in order to view a wide variety of reticules in each category.

Microscope ruler reticles are the most popular type of reticule used and are ideal for making basic measurements. Available in both mm and inches, the ruler reticules can be NIST certified for precise measuring that meets certifiable standards.

Microscope grid reticles are frequently used for counting or measuring cells or particles. Measuring particles and cells is made easier, especially if the required task is a pass/fail task. By knowing the size of the grid and whether a particle or cell fits within that grid can make the job of viewing multiple samples at one time more efficient and timely.

Microscope crossed scale reticles are similar to ruler reticles, but have rulers on each of the four axis points. These reticles are useful when needed to measure in several directions from a center point.

Microscope concentric circle reticles are used to measure tolerances from a central point. By using concentric circles, the distance between each circle on the point is a known distance and making measurements of tolerances is much easier.

Microscope whipple reticles have a grid system that usually contains a grid within the main grid. Whipple reticles are intended to enable the measurement of smaller
specimen features such as pigment dispersions, colloidal particles, dust, and
bacteria.

Microscope Merz Reticles are used to estimate the three dimensional surface
areas or the surface density of a component in a given volume, when the
component does not have a random orientation. It comprises a test system
with parallel curved lines used for measuring the intersection of points.

If you are looking for a particular type of microscope reticle and don't see mention of it on this page, please contact Microscope World, as we carry a number of reticles that are not listed here, as well as custom microscopy reticles.